MORRISVILLE, NC – The International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (iNEMI) has released the Materials Development and Electrical Test Roadmap, which is part of the 5G/6G mmWave Materials and Electrical Test Technology Roadmap (5G/6G MAESTRO).

MAESTRO, managed by iNEMI, is a joint industry/academia project sponsored by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Office of Advance Manufacturing’s Advanced Manufacturing Technology (MfgTech) Roadmap Program. This is the second of two roadmap documents that provide a comprehensive 10-year hardware roadmap for mmWave materials development, characterization and electrical test. The first document – Low Loss Dielectric Materials Characterization Roadmap – was published earlier this year.

"This roadmap gives industry an idea of where the technology currently is and where we need to be in the next 10 years to support the development and manufacture of competitive leading edge 5G and 6G networks in the US," says Shekhar Chandrashekhar, CEO of iNEMI.

The substantial information compiled to create the MAESTRO reports and roadmap documents is the result of significant collaboration among individuals in approximately 30 industry and academic settings.

"When teams across the private sector come together around technology roadmapping, their collaborative work creates that optimal R&D plan to achieve real breakthroughs," said Mike Molnar, director of the NIST Office of Advanced Manufacturing. "These technology roadmaps have proved invaluable to advancing U.S. competitiveness and future leadership in building the industries of tomorrow."

This latest chapter of the roadmap focuses on material development needs for several applications and is divided into the following sections: devices (semiconductor technologies), package integration and assembly, antennas and antenna subsystems, thermal management, co-design and multi-physics analysis, and radio frequency (RF) photonics. It also addresses electrical test, identifying gaps, challenges and potential solutions for the electrical testing-related issues of next-generation communication systems. 

"It is important for the technical community at 3M and other companies to have access to this kind of roadmap,” says Charles Hill, senior research physicist, 3M Company. "It helps industry identify research and development priorities and know where we can best focus our efforts for our respective businesses."

"Roadmap elements can provide the direction for driving future research and collaboration that are synergistic with emerging applications. The teams contributing to MAESTRO have helped set the stage for creating a pre-competitive environment for 6G systems development," says Professor Madhavan Swaminathan, department head of electrical engineering and the William E. Leonhard endowed chair at Penn State University, and director for the Center for Heterogeneous Integration of Micro Electronic Systems (CHIMES).

Implementation Strategy

The MAESTRO team was also tasked with developing an implementation strategy to execute the vision of the roadmap and promote the growth of a strong US workforce in RF and mmWave communication technologies. Download a copy of the MAESTRO implementation strategy here.

Several partnerships focused on key findings of the roadmap are currently underway. Examples include:

Standard Reference Material Development

• iNEMI mmWave Permittivity Reference Material Development Project team – developing a permittivity standard reference material (SRM) that will be handed off to NIST in 2024.

Packaging and Integration (including Antenna Subsystems)

• ​ASIC (American Semiconductor Innovation Coalition) Advanced Packaging team: developing a white paper for RF system-in-package (SIP) technical elements to help guide the vision for an advanced packaging manufacturing program.
• Mid Atlantic Semiconductor Hub (MASH) – preparing proposals to create regional hubs focused on promoting research, development, and commercialization of semiconductor technologies. This group will also work toward driving strategies in the mmWave space.

Resources & Upcoming Conference Presentations

The roadmap documents, several reports plus workshop presentations are available online. In addition, presentations about MAESTRO on are on the agenda for industry conferences in 2024.

• MAESTRO roadmaps and reports
• Advanced Packaging and its Impact on mm/Wave Applications (workshop hosted by ZESTRON and iNEMI / November 7, 2023 / Manassas, VA)
• MAESTRO presentations at upcoming conferences (check the iNEMI calendar – additional details will be provided as they become available).
  • ​iMAPS Device Packaging Conference / March 18-21, 2024 / Fountain Hills, AZ
  • IPC APEX EXPO / April 9-11, 2024 / Anaheim, CA

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